• 13 Nov 2021 12:33 PM | Anonymous

    Around 154 hectares of coastal land has been vested to Auckland Council, part of a larger 180-hectare addition to the Te Ārai Regional Park, which sits on the north-east Rodney coast. Read more about the addition here, or for information on exploring Te Arai park click here.

  • 13 Nov 2021 11:56 AM | Anonymous

    When things don’t go to plan, your physical and emotional state can influence decision-making.  A wrong decision could have a serious, even fatal, outcome. Read more in this Wilderness article on what to do when faced with uncertainty.

  • 15 Oct 2021 12:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    The October edition of the club's emailed newsletter was the last in a PDF format.

    We are replacing it with a news page on the club website at https://www.nstc.org.nz/news, supplemented with emails when required.

    As a result of the changes, you'll see:

    • Better quality photos
    • New forms of media like video
    • Have the ability to add comments (members only)
    • See reports published faster, rather than every two months
    If you have a trip report that you'd like to have published, please send it, with photos, to editor@nstc.org.nz.

    Watch this space, as we'll continue to load trip reports that were previously only published in the club newsletter.

  • 15 Oct 2021 12:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Update: Vicky has volunteered to be Editor and will start when we run trips again after COVID Level 3.

    Ngozi is retiring as Editor, and on behalf of members, we'd like to thank her for the awesome work she has done.

    We are now seeking a new Editor.  Are you a budding journalist, or just like working with words, who could take on the role?

    It's an important, and rewarding role as it helps keep members engaged with the club, and helps attract new members.

    We are also changing how we publish news to online only, to reduce the time needed to perform the role. The key skills needed:

    • Computer literacy - sufficient to use an equivalent to MS-Word 
    • Attention to detail - ability to spot typos, and present a professional looking, public record to the world
    You are also welcome to join the committee, but it is not a prerequisite.

    Interested? Then please contact John Lamb or a member of the committee.  Contact details are here.

  • 1 Oct 2021 12:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    The Club takes your privacy seriously and aims to comply with the new Privacy Act which came into effect in 2020. Personal information is collected to facilitate your participation in club activities and assist with administration of the Club. The Club’s Privacy Officer is our Membership Secretary. Please contact our Membership Secretary if you have any concerns on the use of personal information - membership@nstc.org.nz.

    Your privacy and membership profile settings can be updated by logging onto your Membership details and editing information under your Profile and Privacy Settings.

    The Club shares accounts of its activities with photographs in its Newsletters and other media. This may include names of participants. Our Policy is too only to use first names in publications.

    Your membership is agreement to do this, unless you advise the Club you do not agree.

    If you would like your name and / or image to be omitted from all publications, please advise the Membership Secretary or at time of membership renewal choose the “Opt Out” option under

    > My Profile > Edit Profile > Profile > Personal Profile

    On trips if you do not wish to participant in group photos or be included in individual articles please advise your trip leader.

    If you would like your name and / or image to be omitted from all publications, please advise the Membership Secretary or at time of membership renewal choose the “Opt Out” option under

    > My Profile > Edit Profile > Profile > Personal Profile

    On trips if you do not wish to participant in group photos or be included in individual articles please advise your trip leader.

  • 13 Aug 2021 12:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    We set off early on Friday night leaving Takapuna by 6.30pm and arrived at Karapiro Domain sometime after 9.00 pm, to settled into our well-appointed chalets for the night.

    Saturday morning, when daylight broke, we were up early and organizing our breakfast in a slightly undersized kitchen given the size of eighteen attendees for this marvellous expedition. A quick look around the Domain for some of us, we could see what a large set up they have there to cater for all sorts of water sports and accommodation. We were on the bus and on our way to Maungatautari mountain before 8.30 am, the weather was a mix of broken cloud, fog, and sun, arriving at the mountain in no time at all we were greeted by a rather cold wind from the southwest. This did not cool our spirits any as we were excited to rip into it.

    Our mission, the short party, was to climb Mount Pukeatua and return to either the café or continue to the Sanctuary Mountain bird enclosure. The distance party were to climb Pukeatua and carry on and climb Mount Maungatautari before returning to Big yellow. Interesting Maungatautari, consists of three volcanos, rock sample taken from Maungatauari matches the same DNA as Mt Ruapehu lying some 140 kilometres directly to the South of Maungatauari. There is also forty-seven kilometres of predator fence surrounding three thousand four hundred hectares, which makes it one of the biggest pest-proofed fences in the world.

    It was a few minutes past the hour of 9.00 am with both parties leaving together, however it was not long before the distance party put some distance between our party of twelve. The track initially followed the predator fence along an access metalled track, before we were diverted off and into the bush, it was well-marked, muddy, and hilly in some places required scrambling, in general this was a rough track in places that would give us much fun and a good work out. The mountain was bush clad with areas of Kareao (supplejack), Kawakawa, Kapuka, Pungas, Totara, Kamahi and interesting, Pukatea a large tree that can grow to about thirty-five metres in height, identifiably by the base of its trunk which has plank-like buttresses.

    We had managed to slip into our raincoats just before the summit, as we had sporadic showers visiting us as we neared the summit at about 11.00 am. On our arrival at the summit, we were protested by the call of a Saddleback warning all that we had arrived, by which time we had a fair bit of cloud cover, and the distance view was a bit clouded from the rocky outlet which was the summit. We could just see to the west of us the small Mount Kakepuku which lay between us and Pirongia. Being a bit early for lunch we retreated from the summit to have a short lunch stop at the base of the summit, and the turn-off we were to take to complete our loop.

    The track we would follow was again a metal access track used for maintaining the area. We arrived back shortly after 1.00 pm and about ten and half kilometres later. While some of us retired to the café some of us visited the southern enclosure bird sanctuary the time of the day was probably not the best time to visit as the birds seem to be a little inactive from previous reports earlier in the day.

    However, we did manage to spot the odd saddle back, Kaka, north island Robin, white heads and in the creek some Koura (freshwater crayfish).

    The track was well maintained, easy and had lots of information, feeding stations and a lookout tower above the forest canopy. We manage to cover nearly five kilometres within the enclosure and by the time we got out the distance party had returned, and we were on our way back to our lodgings after a great day tramping.

    Being the night of the All Blacks versus the Wallabies game, some of us went into nearby Cambridge for dinner and watch the game, with a small intermission before half-time because of a fire alarm at the local going off.  I think that was the big event for Cambridge that evening?

    Sunday morning found some, scrambling to arrange breakfast as we had a malfunction because of our undersized kitchen, which poor Roz had to try and sort with management. We had cleaned the kitchen and chalets and Roz had it all ticked of from management by 9.00 am and we were on our way home via the Te Tapui reserve about twenty kilometres south of Morrinsville for another delightful seven-kilometre loop track, the weather was gloriously fine, and we climb to the summit which had a lookout tower.

    This was an easy little tramp, and the bush settings were just superb, truly a hidden little gem. It was one final coffee stop at Morrinsville before we were back in Takapuna in no time at all.

    A Special thank you to Roz, for her hard work organizing this fantastic, memorable fun weekend before level 4 lockdown got us. HOW LUCKY WERE WE?

    Thanks also to our drivers to Arletta and Colin.


  • 17 Jul 2021 12:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    It was a weekend that would promise us a fair bit of rain! It was the weekend that Westport copped the flooding.

    We left Takapuna under a grey cloud covered sky, and headed towards the Whakamarama road carpark, on the eastern side of the Kaimai rangers, arriving in rain at about 11.30am. The forecast was for rain to ramp up at about midday and ease about 4.00pm, so we decided to have an early lunch in the shelter of the bus before heading off at 12 pm.

    The distance party destination for day one was heading for the Mangamuka hut, and day two complete an outer loop back to the bus, the Te Whare Okioki hut party were to do the inner loop with day one staying the night at the new Te Whare Okioki hut. Both parties headed of along the Ngamuwhine track and on to the Leyland O'Brien tramway track, which was flat and straight, being an old tramway track. It allowed us to cover a great deal of distance quickly.

    We passed the odd tram wheel along the way and saw visible signs of the tram track itself. The Whakamarama sawmill was established in the area in 1912 and had several owners and names until 1947, and then Ngahere sawmills of Greerton in Tauranga relogged the area from 1962 to 1975 when the forest park was finally established. By then, I would think it was well and truly deforested.

    So, you can imagine today's bush is a lot of regrowth which is well established with Red and Silver Beech, mosses, fungi, flaxes, pungas and several species of ferns. It was fairly constant rain by the time we got to the Ngamuwhine stream crossing which we crossed without any problems, a short time later we were climbing very gently up passing through man made cutouts where the tram line passed through, there was a fair bit of surface water by this stage flowing down the track and in places, as we got a little higher a bit of mud and tree roots to navigate over but nothing hard, generally pretty easy terrain to tramp in and the track well defined.

    It was about 3pm when the rain had stopped, and we were at the intersection to head on to the Mangamuka hut, just another one hour fifteen minutes away. The track to the hut from the intersection was again easy and well maintained, in fact it had recently been re cleared in the last few weeks of us arriving and slightly dryer under foot than what we had previous. We arrived at the Mangamuka hut about 4.15pm, some fifteen kilometres and four hours later from our departure.

    The hut was a rustic four bunker, occupied by two friendly hunters out for a weekend hunt from farming in Dargaville. As there was not enough bunks and some of us were damp, we erected our tents while the rain held off before returning to the hut to cook dinner and some of us having ago at keeping the fire going, before heading to our tents for the night.

    We awoke the next day to what would be a relatively fine day, packed up and set off about 8.30am. Heading down the Te Tuhi track and onto the Ngamarama track, the track again was undulating and easy going, mostly downhill all the way. We passed lovely clearings that would be ideal for camping, the sky was becoming clearer as we went, but the lower reaches of the track were becoming very muddy in some places. It was a short sharp drop down some stairs, and we were into the open and soon arriving at the bus to be greeted by the Te Whare party and sunshine. A total of twelve Kilometres in a time of three hours fifty.

    Special thanks to our drivers Craig and Bernhard.



  • 20 Jun 2021 12:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Arriving at Shakespear lots of cars already there in the tree planters zone, even through we were quite early.  Once we'd been checked in and signed off the pre-registered list, we head over to the shoe dipping station and to our planting zone up the hill and back down into the gully. It was a bit of an adventure getting to the planting site, up over a large temporary turnstile and along temporary boardwalks over the reeds in the wetland and up the hill to the planting site!   This adventurous entry due to where BBQ tents were set up, in the shelter on the flat away from the forecasted weather, that thankfully we were graced with sun and a clear day, bar a couple of brief raindrops!  Super lucky!

    The angle of the photo doesn't show how steep this tree planting site at Shakespear Regional Park actually was.  Being good trampers, we headed straight up to the top of the hill with our spades.

    4.5k trees planted in about 2 hours, just over 200 people. So many trees planted, they'd only expected to get just under 3k trees planted, but we busted through the ceiling in tree planting efficiency!  I know our group got a very serious number of trees planted between our NSTC team!   Well done!!!!   Lots of people from the community as well,  with lots of kids with their parents learning what it's all about.

    Then of course we went for a couple of hours tramp around this spectacular park. Spotting all sorts of awesome native birds and a Kohekohe tree in full flower. They're a bit unique as they flower mostly on the stem of the tree, not at ends of branches like most trees. Another absolutely epic day out with the North Shore Tramping Club.  Walked away feeling very satisfied that we'd done something so good for the environment, the community, and the gorgeous native wildlife and birds that inhabit these gullies. Cheers, Imogen


  • 13 Jun 2021 12:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    You have to love it when Big Yellow meets the organiser at the destination, and they say....   do you know about the waterfall!!??   Did you say waterfall!   Here we were thinking we were in for a strut along the beach, but our organiser had this surprise for us.  Waterfall first or last?  First definitely! 

    We head north for a short distance, and then you spot the almost amphitheatre shape of the land and there's our waterfall!  Very pretty!   He moves up the well-worn, narrow sandstone track.  And wow, you had to be there!  You'd almost swear you'd transcended countries to Utah!  The colour of the extremely wind beaten sandstone was just incredible and the shapes!   So striking! But wait there's more!   Way hay!  Off we head up the weathered tracks to the lookout, sitting at probably 60-80 metres above sea level.  A nice easy climb and the view, breathtaking!  Mt Taranaki in the distant background, despite the haze and glowering cloud cover! Enjoying the views, all of a sudden one of the group lost their cap in the breeze! 

    Track that hat!  The boys took off down the cliff into the scrub after the hat, spotted and retrieved! Enough excitement, the clouds still dark and foreboding, we bear south towards Port Waikato.  Always lots to look at along the beach, fisherman and their catch, 4x4 clubs zooming around the dunes, motor cross bikes pulling stunts, plus a few small dead Sharks and Lemonfish. A bit more of a workout along the sand today, as there were quite a few soft spots!  Much amusement for us all.

    Arriving back at Big Yellow, all happy that it didn't rain, other than a few spits, after another totally awesome day out with the club! Cheers Imogen.

  • 6 Jun 2021 12:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    We had intended to do the Tawharanui Regional Park tree planting for the club day trip yesterday whilst the others were away at Tongariro, but due to dire forecast and driving up to Tawharanui, we decided that we'd do Birkenhead War Memorial Park tree planting for Arbor Day, seemed so appropriate.   It was awesome to return and see the trees we'd planted last year absolutely thriving and to get lots more baby trees again this year. 

    Only 30 people at this planting, and 1000 trees planted!  Good going considering there were quite a few kids. After scoffing a few hot sausages, naturally being a tramping club,  we headed straight into the bush tramping afterwards on some really nice tracks with epic towering tree canopy above.

    It might have been a bit of the liquid sunshine variety, but who cares, we didn't melt, due to good raincoats.   Great atmosphere, doing something positively beneficial for the environment, community and creatures. If you missed out, come join in next time, you'll be hooked and go away buzzing!  The even bigger buzz, is when you return next season to see how big your baby trees are! A few weekends ago the club bus was up at Tangihua up north, so we made the most of the opportunity to do the first tree planting of the season at Long Bay Regional Park, Birkenhead being the second. The Long Bay team were reasonably well organised, despite not having enough signage put up to locate the planting site, very quickly rectified with a few helpful comments. A good turnout of maybe 60 people and heaps of trees planted in a flat area and the obligatory bbq'd sausies afterwards.   And you guessed it a walk up and over the always gorgeous Long Bay clift top walk. Cheers, Imogen